Retreatment decision making by a group of general dental practitioners in Germany

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether retreatment of root fillings was judged necessary or not and which kind of retreatment was preferred among a group of general dental practitioners in Germany. A questionnaire comprising 19 cases of endodontically treated teeth with different case histories and several treatment options was sent to all general practitioners in Göttingen (Germany). The cases included teeth with periapical radiolucencies, pain, apical resorption, under- and overfilling, and unfilled root canals. Results obtained from 43 questionnaires returned indicate that non-intervention or further radiographic monitoring were preferred by the majority of general practitioners in 10 of 19 cases, even in the presence of periapical pathosis. Only five cases were judged to require conservative endodontic retreatment and, in four cases, root resection. The results revealed large inter- and intraindividual discrepancies in the estimation of endodontic retreatment need.